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MAKE A DIFFERENCE

There are many ways to make a difference in the life of a foster child.

You can choose simple, short-term ways to help, or you can make a lifelong difference. Every action matters, and every child deserves caring adults, stability, and hope.

How you can help

Support can take many forms, from advocacy and mentorship to fostering, adoption, and giving.

Some opportunities are short-term and flexible. Others create a lasting bond that can change a child’s future forever. However you choose to get involved, your role can have a meaningful impact in the life of a child in foster care.

Advocacy and support

Children in foster care need adults who will show up, speak up, and stand beside them.

Whether through advocacy, mentorship, respite care, fostering, adoption, or financial support, every contribution helps create better outcomes for children and youth navigating the foster care system.

The opportunities below offer meaningful ways to make a difference at many levels, from immediate support to lifelong commitment.

Caring adult supporting a child through conversation and connection
Ways to make a difference

Choose the path that fits your life, your time, and your heart.

There are many ways to help a foster child experience consistency, advocacy, care, and opportunity.

01

Volunteer as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) or Guardian ad Litem (GAL)

CASA/GAL volunteers advocate for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Each year, CASA/GAL programs train more than 24,000 new community advocate volunteers who are screened and trained extensively.

They ensure that judges have all information required to make the most well-informed decision in the best interest of each child.

Learn more: nationalcasagal.org

02

Mentor a Child or Teen in Foster Care

Teens and children in foster care often experience a lack of consistency of caring adults in their lives. There are programs designed to mentor these children and teens to give them the guidance and tools to succeed.

Contact your local social services organization or Big Brothers Big Sisters.

03

Become a Respite Provider

Respite providers volunteer to assist parents and other caregivers with short-term care services to improve the stability of the home and reduce abuse and neglect.

Contact your local social services organization.

04

Become a Foster Parent

Foster parents provide a temporary, safe home for children in foster care. Working with the social service organization in your area, you can become qualified to care for children while they wait for reunification with their family or adoption into a new family.

For more information, contact your local social services organization.

05

Adopt a Child

There are over 111,000 children who are waiting for their forever families.

For more information, contact your local social services organization.

06

Make a Donation

Donate your time, expertise, or financial support to a nonprofit that is working to help provide a better future for children in foster care.

Mentor supporting a teen through guidance and conversation
A practical way to start

Not every act of service requires a lifelong commitment to make a lifelong impact.

Advocacy, mentorship, and respite care can all provide meaningful support to children and families in the foster care system. For many people, these are powerful ways to begin helping right away.

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